In having lunch with a friend the other day, we discussed the political climate of the state and some of the challenges Arizona faces. My friend pointed out that many of our political leaders are great at defining the problems, but fall short in proposing solutions. Eventually, we landed on the topic of Arizona’s drought and the challenges facing our state. He asked me about solutions.
He is right. Politicians can put a fine point on a problem, but solutions require much more thought. When I worked on Arizona’s part in getting the Drought Contingency Plan (DCP) passed at the Arizona legislature in January of 2020, I thought we had bought some time in dealing with what was then a 20-year-old drought. While passage of the DCP helped, two years later we have seen the levels at Lake Mead drop steadily lower even as Central Arizona agreed to leave even more water behind Hoover Dam.
The legislature passed the most important piece of water law coming out of Arizona in 40 years. Unfortunately, it was not enough. I can think of at least nine things that Arizona can do, however, to meet the challenges this persistent drought poses to our growing population.
No silver bullets!
"Silver Bullet" by Rodger_Evans is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0
We have no silver bullet to make this problem go away. It will take a multi-faceted approach. Below is a list of the first three actions Arizona must undertake and a fourth action item for California:
Unfortunately, Arizona will at least temporarily have to fallow some farmland. Pinal County has already started this process because their farmers never had any absolute rights to Colorado River water. Their limited groundwater supplies cannot replace the excess Colorado River water cities let them use in good times. Maricopa County farmers, however, must accept the reality that they have junior rights on the Colorado River. They must realize they will have to fallow some of their fields. This is especially true since even Yuma County farmers, many with senior water rights, may end up through political pressure, having to fallow at least some of their least efficient ground. Arizona farmers who find themselves in this situation should be properly compensated for fallowing their acreage. These funds could come from the state, but more likely federal funds appropriated in the so-called Inflation Reduction Act.
Lettuce season in Yuma, Arizona
Photo by Cactus Reports
The Arizona State Land Department should cancel the lease with Fondomonte LLC. This Saudi Arabian company grows alfalfa and sends it all to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The state entered into this dubious 25 dollar/acre lease with Fondomonte and it can pump all the groundwater the company wants on this nearly 3500-acre farm. Furthermore, Fondomonte pumps from an aquifer containing almost six million acre-feet of groundwater set aside as a backup supply in the early 1980’s for the Phoenix area.
California has escaped unscathed from cuts on its Colorado River allotment, despite the fact it benefits from having the largest share of the river at 4.4 million acre-feet per year. If California takes a much-needed cut this would take a little pressure off Arizona.
As a state senator, I proposed water banking legislation which ultimately passed in the mid-90’s. This allowed cities to store what were then unused Colorado River allocations for future use as the population increased. To date the Central Arizona Project, Salt River Project, and cities in the Phoenix metro area have banked approximately 12 million acre-feet of water. sun_corridor_2021_final.pdf (asu.edu) p.3. These entities will now face the task of building the infrastructure to retrieve that water as a supplement to declining renewable supplies.
Two of the actions listed above include 18 million acre-feet of groundwater within the Phoenix metro area. Based on this, an outsider might think Arizona has more water than it needs. This represents almost nine years’ usage in the Phoenix metro area. Water Used in Phoenix | Ask A Biologist (asu.edu) The major cities of Arizona, however, lie in the desert and in no way can natural recharge keep up with the demands of a growing population. Arizona’s groundwater is a legacy that must be protected for future generations. To that end, Arizona has a policy in its urban areas that any new housing development must prove it has a 100-year water supply before it can proceed. Undoubtedly, this will prove more difficult as Arizona’s population grows.